JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Two Mississippi children have died due to being left in hot cars this year.

Medical officials said small children absorb heat three to five times faster than adults. In many cases, one small change can result in a life-changing result.

“Unfortunately, most of the time the problem is, is when there’s a change in routine, where one parent thinks the other one is going to take the child somewhere, they just get out of a normal routine, and it can be something as simple as just, you know, ‘Oh, I forgot something. I have to run back in the house,’ that gets you out of your normal stance of how you do things,” explained Eric Phillips, a Safety Risk specialist with American Medical Response (AMR).

A simple measure, like leaving your left shoe in the backseat of your car, could save a child’s life.

“You can purchase things that tell you, ‘Hey, make sure you check your back seat.’ Couple of the easiest things or a little toys that you can have with you that you can take with you when you have a little one in the back,” said Phillips.

Although you may believe leaving your car on and leaving your children inside the car is already, experts said that’s not the case.

“It is not a good idea to leave your kid in the car with the air conditioner running. Worst case scenario, something happens to your car, and it shuts off. Some new cars are made to automatically turn off after you get out of it, and the key gets so far away from it for a certain amount of time, even though you may think it only takes a minute to run into the store and you’ll be right back out. You know, it doesn’t take but just a little bit for that air conditioner to not keep up with the heat that’s going on outside,” Phillips stated.

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